Dear Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner,

I understand the Victims and Prisoners Bill will introduce a new statutory requirement on commissioners of victims’ services, known as the ‘duty to collaborate’. This will require Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and local authorities to work together when commissioning support services for victims of domestic abuse, sexual abuse and other serious violence.

Unfortunately in Bristol there are currently no female only abuse support services. Even the services which say online or in their charitable objectives they are 'by women for women' and/or for survivors dealing with the aftermath of domestic, sexual abuse and coercive control - have said there aren't any and they are in fact mixed sex. Female survivors of male abuse who need single sex services are currently left with no accessible support at all. Some have contacted abuse support organisations, including on police recommendation from officers supporting them, to ask for help and then found the service is mixed sex, as the online information is dishonest and misleading, so have been left unsupported.

Please advise
1- how you are collaborating with the council and ICB to ensure there are single sex services for female victims of abuse currently excluded from help, before the Victim's Bill comes into force. If not, please advise.
2- what other plans the police or police commissioner have to fulfil their statutory duty to ensure there are accessible single sex services for female victims of male abuse. If none, please advise.
3- if the commissioner or force knows of any single sex abuse services in your area for female abuse survivors , please advise .
4- please advise what action the commissionner or force will take to ensure that female victims of male abuse are referred to accessible local female only abuse support when this is what they request following male abuse, to avoid further trauma, or warned when this is not available

Yours faithfully,

E. Thomas